New Dragon Age 2 developer video diary

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WabeWalker

Supreme [H]ardness
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Sep 3, 2007
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Just... pathetic.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/unna...?tag=topslot;title;1&tag=stitialclk;gamespace

In particular, re-watch the action at 3:15 - just so ridiculous. And, yes, that's what it will look like on the PC as well. Those are the new animations. The PC and the console versions don't have two separate animation systems running. What you see is what you're going to get.

Also, whenever developers start to become so praiseworthy of their own game (as these guys clearly are), it's usually a sign that they've lost their focus - this seems to occur a lot whenever a developer is flush from the success of a recent title. The guys behind Call of Duty got that way too.
 
Looks like they are trying to merge the standard Bioware RPG with a Diablo / God of War type feel.

Not necessarily a bad thing. We'll just have to see how it turns out.
 
Not really an RPG anymore, but it may still be a fun game. Just like I still enjoyed DoWII even though it wasn't a traditional RTS like the original DoW.
 
If they ever turn this game to hack/slash , I will seriously bring the torch in front of their door and leading mobs this time personally..
 
This game is now only a semblance of what I originally read about six years ago in the Computer Gaming World preview - there's almost nothing of Baldur's Gate left in this anymore.
 
WabeWalker said:
This game is now only a semblance of what I originally read about six years ago in the Computer Gaming World preview - there's almost nothing of Baldur's Gate left in this anymore.
Click to expand...

Nothing at all. I was disappointed with the first so I expect more of the same with the second. :mad:
 
2:52
"Is there any way that we could just take the RPG concepts, the very core tenants of it, and move it forward into a newer field...something that would work as well on the consoles as it did on the PC."

Oh, and combat does indeed look like Devil May Cry. Definitely taking a major turn away from what I like to the point where I may not bother with it. If you like this new style, then I'm sure it will be a great game.
 
The PC version is still going to let you pause and click, it just won't have the zoomed out camera because they want to put ceilings in the game.

While watching that interview, for every point they made to "improve the game" I thought, "to improve the game ... on consoles".

Dragon Age II has become consolized in 3.....2......1

It's where the money is guys. The only companies that are going to do traditional, party based PC RPG's are indy developers or smaller teams.

Bioware and EA teaming up? It's all about the money ... and nothing about the tradition. When was the last game made at Bioware without money as the intention and just because they wanted to? Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 were the greatest and will always be the greats games to come from them. They will never top it and I don't even think they are trying to.

I'm still going to buy it, except if it uses Steam.
 
Oh noooes! it won't be an RPG! They want to move away from a chess game! Party members will be working together fighting foes, rather than each having their own distinct abilities. I wanna have Tank and support crew tactics!!! Combat won't feel like silently rolling dice behind the scenes! It will feel more real and faster!

Heh, actually I think I might like the direction they are going. They aren't pretending it's an RPG. Instead they are taking elements and openly saying they are going a different direction. Only thing I don't care for is "making it more console friendly." Action RPG-lite, I'm fine with that. They aren't pretending otherwise.

It's funny when they say, "Even the hardcore DA: Origins people are liking it and appreciating the direction." Hopefully they are right.
 
I still have high hopes for the game being as story driven as the original was. I hate the new combat animations though. The CGI animated part around the 4 minute mark was OK, but I really didn't like the in-game animations. When the characters jumped, I felt like the game should have went "ding, ding, ding" and the gold count in the top left corner should have went up by 3, followed by Hawke landing on a goomba and rescuing Princess Peach. The realism (or as close to realism as you can get in a fantasy game) that I really appreciated in Origins seems to be gone. I really like how to combat is more fluid, but good grief; the jumping speed/animations are awful.
 
RPG = role playing game

Tactics is not the only type of RPG (eg Morrowind, which has the stupidest combat ever, but was still fantastic). I truly don't care if their only motive is to make it better on console, the game looks like a ton of fun, and I'll definitely get it.
 
I say bring it on! I have DAO here at home, but honestly I don't like it much. The old pause and select combat is not my favorite. But to be fair I have a copy of Baldurs Gate 2 around and have never been able to get with it either, so am not an old school D&D RPG kind of guy.

Another thing is, deep engaging stories in video games is not a high priority with me. An interesting story is okay, but I am entertained way more by the interactive gameplay. I would much rather spend time with a game that had a weak story but great challenging gameplay than a game with a deep story line and so so gameplay action.

I am looking forward to trying out this new vision of DA. From the looks of it I bet I will like it more than DAO.
 
ryken said:
RPG = role playing game

Tactics is not the only type of RPG (eg Morrowind, which has the stupidest combat ever, but was still fantastic). I truly don't care if their only motive is to make it better on console, the game looks like a ton of fun, and I'll definitely get it.
Click to expand...

What? No, RPG = your martial prowess is strictly/mathematically determined by your stats and what the dice roll. No hand-eye coordination skill should be involved, otherwise the game ceases to be an RPG and instead it's an action adventure game. It has to be based upon a turn based system as well. That's what RPG stands for.
















:D Ok, sarcasm disclosure. I actually agree with what you said. Even about Morrowind.
 
kuyaglen said:
Dunno what all the hoop-la is about but what I saw looks pretty cool.
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What I saw resembled a cartoon on fast forward - I'm referring to the gameplay, which we saw five seconds of.

And by the way, isn't it interesting that Bioware is withholding serious gameplay footage. I said it before the release of DA, the lead designer, Mike Laidlaw, is an egomaniac who won't listen to people.
 
Yeah, extra footage time would be much better than seeing the devs faces. I'm hopeful, although it does look a little too much like a JRPG or some such. Seems kind of diablo-eque as well. Yeah, Diablo 3 with a different setting and slightly less emphasis on item finding. That's my hypothesis.
 
Parmenides said:
What? No, RPG = your martial prowess is strictly/mathematically determined by your stats and what the dice roll. No hand-eye coordination skill should be involved, otherwise the game ceases to be an RPG and instead it's an action adventure game. It has to be based upon a turn based system as well. That's what RPG stands for.

:D Ok, sarcasm disclosure. I actually agree with what you said. Even about Morrowind.
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I mean seriously, in morrowind, the combat was mouse 1 swings sword, mouse 2 blocks. Another button brought up your hands, and then you had to scroll through spells to find the one you wanted before you casted it. And it was a seriously badass RPG.

They increased the speed of the combat to make it more exciting. Sorry if you are dice rolling fan, but go play a table top. Sorry if you want the tactics, but tactics in DAO were boring and dragged out each fight.
 
ryken said:
I mean seriously, in morrowind, the combat was mouse 1 swings sword, mouse 2 blocks. Another button brought up your hands, and then you had to scroll through spells to find the one you wanted before you casted it. And it was a seriously badass RPG.

They increased the speed of the combat to make it more exciting. Sorry if you are dice rolling fan, but go play a table top. Sorry if you want the tactics, but tactics in DAO were boring and dragged out each fight.
Click to expand...

Actually, in morrowind blocking wasn't mouse 2. That came with Oblivion. In Morrowind it was actually automatic. But yeah, Morrowind was so much fun. I spent hundreds of hours on that.

I'm surprised that you still think I want to go back to the table top. Maybe I should have said, "sarcasm disclaimer" rather than "sarcasm disclosure". I did say I agree too.
 
ryken said:
I mean seriously, in morrowind, the combat was mouse 1 swings sword, mouse 2 blocks. Another button brought up your hands, and then you had to scroll through spells to find the one you wanted before you casted it. And it was a seriously badass RPG.

They increased the speed of the combat to make it more exciting. Sorry if you are dice rolling fan, but go play a table top. Sorry if you want the tactics, but tactics in DAO were boring and dragged out each fight.
Click to expand...

Morrowind combat was 100% awful. DA2 combat looks like some sort of Prototype meets DMC. Not interesting int he least.
 
Parmenides said:
Yeah, extra footage time would be much better than seeing the devs faces. I'm hopeful, although it does look a little too much like a JRPG or some such. Seems kind of diablo-eque as well. Yeah, Diablo 3 with a different setting and slightly less emphasis on item finding. That's my hypothesis.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm thinking as well.

I'm not sure why everyone chooses to focus on the combat mechanics as an integral part of what an RPG is. To me, an RPG implies more of being able to customize the stats, abilities, and gear of your character, along with making meaningful choices that actually impact the course of the game and the nonlinear storyline within it. Both of which were where the original DA fell short, and where this one looks to be even worse.
 
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Lets get a few things out of the way.

1. I'm going to play this game regardless of how it looks or how I feel. I have to, I absolutely have to.
2. I thought the tactical 'chess' game style of combat was the absolute best part of the game. I feel the game resonates and shines in this regard, it was what made it so goddamn core, so geek and worthwhile of a modern fantasy RPG.

I am upset at some of the changes I'm seeing this early on. However, gaming is a hobby for me and I do not invest myself deep enough to care enough to get my blood boiling. I have a family to take care of, I could give a shit about a game. Regardless, we're talking about the company that made Origins, and Mass Effect so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and fly blind on this one.

I do not think the game will suck, but I am worried about these radical changes shaping the best parts of Origins into something more common, and less exciting.
 
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theNoid said:
Lets get a few things out of the way.

1. I'm going to play this game regardless of how it looks or how I feel. I have to, I absolutely have to.
2. I thought the tactical 'chess' game style of combat was the absolute best part of the game. I feel the game resonates and shines in this regard, it was what made it so goddamn core, so geek and worthwhile of a modern fantasy RPG.

I am upset at some of the changes I'm seeing this early on. However, gaming is a hobby for me and I do not invest myself deep enough to care enough to get my blood boiling. I have a family to take care of, I could give a shit about a game. Regardless, we're talking about the company that made Origins, and Mass Effect so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and fly blind on this one.

I do not think the game will suck, but I am worried about these radical changes shaping the best parts of Origins into something more common, and less exciting.
Click to expand...

I agree with what you're saying. Jobs and families, obviously, are where the vast majority of us concentrate our energies. But that doesn't mean we can't also be passionate about our hobby.

Work hard, and play hard, that's my motto.

I know guys who ski on the weekends, or go sailing in the summer. Myself, on a cold, rainy afternoon I'd rather be playing something like Metro or Civ, or any one of the dozens of mind blowing titles I haven't finished yet. I can't really help it. I get excited about things like GTX 480's and illuminated Alienware keyboards and new game announcements.

And yeah it does depress me when I see changes like this being made to what could potentially have been a great game... and when I say it 'depresses me'... I don't actually mean that I am depressed... if you understand my meaning.
 
Looks decent to me, will probably be getting it due to BioWare having a pretty good track record. They know how to make AAA titles and I have always preferred their style of games over Bethesda (Who don't know how to animate properly).
 
@ refraxion, when you say Bioware has a "pretty good" track record, are you referring to Bioware around the turn of the new millennium or Bioware around 2007 or so?
 
"....something that would work as well on the consoles as it did on PC." And so the downfall begins.
 
eh, the it took me a pretty long while to grasp the whole concept of the stop-motion thingy (I have not played those types of RPGs). I could see how that would be a big problem on consoles. Besides it just required too much management of the characters. I mean sometimes their behavior was good, other times I just did not know wtf they were doing.

i loved a lot of the things bioware did with the story and choices, really that is one of the ways the game excelled. the combat though... difficult.
 
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